Alright, enough of the political commentary! At least for now. Would you be willing to engage with me a little bit here and tell me:

“Have you thought about where you want to go with the work of Moshe Feldenkrais?

That is, what you want to create for yourself, for your friends or *insert your words here.* I would really like to know and so would your friends and colleagues. Take a moment and leave a response below or send me an email via the contact form at the bottom of the page?

There will be a time when I will no longer post updates on this blog. Consider subscribing to my new one and then unsubscribing to this one. If you do not, that is fine. But you will eventually miss out on the new stuff I am putting out there.

Update, Thursday, May 9th: The free series is done. However all the sessions are available as video and audio with transcripts for a small price. But the price is going up on May 13th, so enroll now if you want the content. These webinars helped me understand why some people get more benefit from Feldenkrais sessions and some people (such as myself) get LESS benefit. Many of us have trauma symptoms, dissociation and neurological “blocks” that limit what we can gain from the Feldenkrais Method. These webinars with Peter Levine, Pat Ogden and Stephen Porges have given me tools for dealing with these traumatic after effects, “healing” them and helping a person stay in the present moment and in the lesson.

Update: The webinar is starting in just a few hours, today, Weds, March 8. It will be broadcast at two times: 5pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) and 6:30pm EDT. But you must register to attend free: Register for Pat Ogden Webinar on Trauma.

***If you missed the webinar or would like to download it or have trancscripts, there is also a paid option on the same page. cheers! Ryan

….I am in the midst of preparing myself for an online webinar that is coming up very soon on Trauma and The Body. The next speaker is Pat Ogden, PhD who is not only a psychologist but has also studied Hakomi and the Alexander Technique. She also makes a point to mention Feldenkrais in her various books and papers. I do not always share the details of these webinars. I only share the ones that I have a deep interest in or that I think other Feldenkrais practitioners will enjoy. This one looks to be great for Feldenkrais people.

The Ogden webinar, part of a larger series on trauma, is interesting as her language and strategies, to me, are very “Feldenkrais friendly” and often mirror the experiential, process-based, and action-based means of the work of Moshe Feldenkrais. For example, this quotation that I took from one of her research papers:

“The role of the therapist is to facilitate self-awareness and self-regulation, rather than to witness and interpret the trauma. [It] involves working with sensations and action tendencies in order to discover new ways of orienting and moving through the world.”

Does that evoke familiar ideas for you? She focuses not on judgement and “insight” but getting people to take action in the world. And later in the same article:

“In the act of noticing their bodily experience, innate somatic regulatory capacities, or “resources,” become spontaneously available or can be evoked by the therapist: resources such as taking a breath, adjusting the spine, making a movement, orienting, perceptually and physically to the environment.”

Pretty cool! There is much more that I could say about this webinar, but I am relatively new to Dr. Ogden’s work and should perhaps leave it to her to describe what she does. The webinar is free if you register ahead of time and attend “live.” You can also pay if you would rather download the video (and audio version) and get transcripts and such. I wonder a great deal how many people come to the Feldenkrais Method (consciously or otherwise) because they are dealing with unresolved trauma. And I wonder yet again, if the Method can give them relief. I think the answer for many is “no.” There are some specific strategies and ideas missing in the Method. Strategies and ideas which, though similar, are different in their implementation and use. This is a topic I will return to in a later blog post on RyanNagy.com. In the meantime, to hear Dr. Ogden’s talk please click the link below and find the line and grey box on the page that reads: Register here for the Wednesday broadcasts only. Free of Charge. Feel free to forward this blog post or post on social media if you know of others who will benefit. I do get an affiliate fee for each paid registration.

cheers!

Ryan

I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar errors. I did this quickly Sunday morning, before taking the rest of the day off.

Mia Segal and Leora Gaster Podcast

This podcast was recorded on April 15th, 2010 in Austin, Texas. It was the third recorded conversation that I had with Mia and Leora. (The second has not been broadcast).

This last conversation almost didn’t happen. Both Mia and Leora felt we had covered a lot of ground during our previous conversations and weren’t quite sure what else needed to be said. But in the back of my mind I felt like something was still missing. So Leora graciously extended another invitation to talk before I left.

The conversation that you are about to hear is only about 20 minutes. But we cover a great deal of ground. Mia shares stories about Moshe, how fun he was and how full of laughter and jokes. We talk briefly about Moshe’s x-wife Yona Rubenstein. We also speak of Noah Eshkol who, according to Mia, was very close to Moshe in terms of personality. We end with a story of Moshe’s fears about the work getting diluted based on what was happening at Amherst after he left.

I recently purchased an mp3 CD that contains over 13 hours of lectures and Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais. The material was taught in Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1976. True to the understated (one could say boring) marketing style of the International Feldenkrais Federation, the lessons are described thus:

Seven classic lessons my ass! The mp3’s are vintage Moshe. From the very first moment he dives right in as only he can do – speaking to experiential learning, health, awareness, the relationship between structure and function – the primacy of movement for functions of life. Hmmm!! If you are interested in Moshe’s work, grab this product and geek out. You will be glad that you did. After listening to the first two hours, I have been experiencing myself and the work much more deeply.

Luckily, I found about the CD’s and bought them based on the basis of recommendations of several people in the community, not from the IFF’s description above. Who recommended the sessions to me? I can’t tell you lest I be accused of something. Normally I don’t mind. But today, I am not in the mood. Let’s just say that it was Che Guevara. On a motorcycle trip around the world, he became aware of the suffering of Feldenkrais practitioners. He is one his way to Portland to start a revolution. He is armed.

Unfortunately, the sound quality on the CD is not that great, there is a bit of echo here and there and some “tinny” sounds. And for a guy like me with tinnitus, it can be damn annoying at times. I already have enough ringing in my ears from the meth-induced abuse to myself that I did in the 80’s. But even so, I can tell you that after the first two sessions I am completely hooked. Come to think of it I got hooked on meth just as easily.

By the way: According to the IFF the products on the website are only “for the exclusive use of persons who have graduated from, or are currently enrolled in, a professional Feldenkrais training program.” Yea, whatever. Just between you and I, the IFF has no way of verifying if you are or are not in a training or have graduated from one. So do yourself a favor – if you want them just order them.

And don’t worry – Moshe wants you to have these sessions. He told me. I swear. In fact, in a dream last night Moshe told me, “Ryan, thou art my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” I was a bit scared when he told me that. Sensing my fear, he gently rolled my head. I breathed deeply. The master had touched me! And I will never forget what Moshe told me next. It was so weird. He said,

“You will go to the Dagobah system. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me.

My eyes opened wide. I wanted to speak, but he waved me off impatiently and said:

Update: April, 2013. I do not think you can buy the Rotterdam sessions unless you are a Feldenkrais Practitioner. Give me some time and I will see if I can figure out a way for you to steal them or obtain them illegally.

Update: March 22nd, 2017: This site is rarely updated. Come join me on my private site where you can get access to kick-ass Feldenkrais sessions that you can do wherever you are: https://www.ryannagy.com/moptions/

Update: May 20th, 2013: The Feldenkrais session below is still available for free as are several on this website. However, my Feldenkrias Forty sessions were replaced by my “Feldenkrais Classics” series available on my newest blog on RyanNagy.com.

So in that vein, welcome to the first of many free, open-source, Feldenkrais-based mp3 sessions or “Feldenkrais Exercises” as Google seems to label them.

Why Free? In the modern, interconnected world in which we live, ideas that get adopted thrive. Everything else seems to fade away and die. In the modern, interconnected world in which we live, the more ideas are understood and used, they more they thrive and evolve.

It’s that simple.

It’s time to get the work out into the world in a format that will allow them to take hold and help anyone who is willing to put in the time and attention to use them.

Historically, the Americanized trademarked-version of Moshe Feldenkrais’ work, commonly called “the Feldenkrais Method” evolved from a control mentality. The originators of the original trademark/legal scheme thought that if they built walls around the ideas – locked them up in copyrights and trademarks and guilds and such – that the ideas would thrive.

They were wrong.

The work evolved from Moshe Feldenkrais is rich, complex and multi-faceted. It cannot be contained in service marks. Moshe knew this and he required none of his original students in Israel to join a guild nor pay him fees or royalties. They never signed legal agreements. And he never sued anyone that went their own way. He may have gotten angry or have been disappointed. But he never, ever resorted to legal means to control others. How could he? Such means were anathema to a man such as Moshe.

He wanted to his students to be independent. His life was dedicated to helping his students be independent.

Disclaimer: The Feldenkrais sessions presented on this website are for educational and entertainment purposes only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional help nor medical treatment. Nothing on this web site is intended to diagnose or treat any pathology or disease of any kind. Neither the author of the session, any interviewee nor the owner of the website, cannot be held responsible for any injuries or discomfort that occur. Stay in your own range of comfort and do not do anthing that is painful or uncomfortable.

Do you have something that you want to say or share regarding the work of Moshe Feldenkrais and related communities, but are worried about legal or political consequences? Consider contacting me anonymously.

The service sends the email without identifying information and it forwards the email through several email servers so that it cannot be traced.

Anonymous File Sharing. Do you have a historical document that you think others in the community should see? Perhaps you have a court document or a letter from or to Moshe? Digitize your document with a scanner and put it on your computer. Then use this service to upload it and get a file link: http://www.datafilehost.com/ You can then send the link to me via the anonymous email service and I can download the file.

I describe the steps above so that you can feel secure being a resource for the community. In actuality, you will likely be safe even without anonymity. It would require legal action for someone to force me to hand over any information that you send me or information about your identity. And even then, the action might fail. This blog and the information on it is likely protected under journalist/journalism laws. Though I cannot guarantee that fact. Whatever the case, I will do everything that I can to protect your identity.

By the way – If anyone uses the above links to send me hateful or abusive email, rest assured it will get caught in my spam filter and I will never see it.

Also, the fact that you send me something does not mean that it will make it into a blog post. And if it does make it into a blog post, it could take days, weeks, even months, depending on a a variety factors such as legal issues, community interest, my own personal interest and such. Thanks in advance for understanding.

Unlike presentations in traditional conferences all of the Cyberconference talks are available for instant download. This means that you can listen, re-listen and learn in your own time and in your own way. Several of the presenters, including myself and Bill O’Hanlon offer free bonuses and slides and such that you can use to further your learning.

Core Faculty

The core faculty for the session include some of my favorites in the field of therapy and transformational change: Stephen Gilligan, Stephen Lankton, Bill O’Hanlon, and Jeffrey Zeig. All are highly skilled change agents and are direct students of Milton Erickson and (most important) innovators and thinkers in their own right.

Though I have only made it through about a third of the presentations so far, my personal favorites have been David Calof’s and Bill O’Hanlon’s. David’s 30-minute talk is a hypnotic induction called, “Relax! Stop Trying to be Creative and Flexible” I will admit that I did the session while working out on a treadmill. Not the best place to be hypnotized, but it certainly was fascinating (and slightly freaky).

My friend and occasional co-presenter, Bill O’Hanlon, speaks to creating cooperation and results while doing changework and coaching. His presentation is highly-useful and highly-relevant for practitioners engaged Feldenkrais-based work. Though I have not yet listened to Michael Yapko‘s presentation on stopping the spread of depression, he is one of my all-time favorite thinkers in the field of hypnosis. I have bought and read every one of his books and audio-programs. Why? His work is wonderful thought-innoculation against the prevalent and exceedingly wrong idea that depression is “in our genes” or “caused by chemicals in the brain.” Life is a process. Yapko gets that.

Healing the Feminine Psyche

Also, if you have never heard of Michelle Ritterman, you may want to take note. She has a presentation on “Healing the Feminine Psyche” and the “Tao of a Woman”. She has many empowering ideas any one of which can effect a change. One of which I enjoy: “How do We Find a Stance in Life that enables us to experience our uniqueness at every moment?” Very powerful stuff. Even though I am not a woman (except on special occasions – don’t ask). I deeply appreciate her work.

Discount and Bonus

Take a look at the presentations and see which ones look most interesting to you? Not only are there 24 international experts presenting but there is one – and only one – group of people who can take this worskhop at a discount. That would be you, the readers of this blog. Enter the coupon code “Moshe” at checkout for a 25% discount.

Buy Eliminate Back Pain Now with Feldenkrais

Feldenkrais MP3 Download Package

Feldenkrais Podcast Episodes

Feldenkrais sessions that involve the breath have a tendency to bring out a great deal of emotion in me, sometimes leading to spontaneous crying or anger. Have you experienced something similar? The first time I experienced it was during a Feldenkrais table session (sometimes called "Functional Integration"). I was young at the time, only 24... […]

I am at a coffee shop preparing the transcript for my weekly Easy Feldenkrais session and I had a moment of confusion when the transcript of Moshe's session said, "Press the middle of your waist in the floor. That is, press the small ribs on the right and left - the floating ribs." To me,... […]

I was really excited a few days ago when I saw that my longtime friend, colleague and fellow "Feldenkrais Evangelist" Alfons Grabher had released a new book: Feldenkrais With Alfons: Getting Better Day By Day. Alfons does what I do - travels the world (He is an Austrian currently traveling in Hong Kong, Taiwan and... […]

Here is a wonderful (and free) audio Feldenkrais session that you can do right now. No need to enter your email, just click below to play. It is based on a session from "Alexander Yanai" (or AY as they are sometimes called). This is one of my all time favorite sessions. And that has little... […]

Several Feldenkrais practitioners told me that they do not like the tone of the article below from the U.K. Telegraph, but I love it! Slightly irreverent and 100% positive for Feldenkrais (from my point of view). "I was seeing the best physios in the world – and doing Pilates,” he recalls of his injuries, yet... […]

Moshe Feldenkrais

Every so often, I get questions from people about TMJ and surgery, be it a disk removal or grinding of the teeth or what have you. I am not a medical doctor and I cannot give medical advice. But what I can do is review the research on TMJ surgery, consult with experts, and make...

I have not been updating the blog too much these days, but just wanted to let you know that I (Ryan Nagy) am still here and the TMJ series is still going strong. I also want to relay to a very strange experience that I had last year but that I am only now writing...

I’m in the process of pulling together my pdf’s and research articles on TMJ in preparation for writing a book on the subject of “curing” TMJ. I put the word cure in quotes as very often TMJ does not seem to be a disease as much as a process. People often have processes of clenching...